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The Environmental and Conservation Organization's second Earth Stewardship Day started off with a cool morning Saturday as volunteers like Perez-Sanchez tackled projects across Henderson County. The gardening project at Upward - where students added mulch and pulled weeds - was just one piece of the puzzle as workers spread out to take care of the earth.

For Perez-Sanchez, the morning was a good one. The Flat Rock Middle student was working at Upward with the Henderson County Young Leaders program, and said Saturday's work was about giving back.

Last year, she was still a student at Upward and knows the garden very well.

"It makes me really proud to know I'm working in this garden," she said. "Helping the garden is like helping the people of this school. It's just a beautiful garden that I absolutely love."

Those were the emotions ECO was trying to emphasize during the collaborative event, which is designed to bring environmental stewardship to the forefront for people who might not normally be as conscious of it. The group wanted participants to be "engaged in environmental stewardship" in a hands-on way, ECO Water Quality Administrator Seirisse Baker said.

"That was definitely accomplished today," she added.

The event also serves other purposes. For Diane Jacober, it was another way to teach her kids about leadership. Jacober is the director of Henderson County Young Leaders.

"This is a good format for it," she said.

The group had high school teens, middle school kids and elementary school children helping out at Upward on Saturday. Earth Stewardship Day included seven locations and 10 organizations helping out. Baker estimated that nearly 150 people volunteered to work on the projects.

"I think it was a great success," she said. "I think a lot was accomplished and everyone had fun."

<p>Alexla Perez-Sanchez knelt in a garden, pulled at some weeds and tossed them to the side. The 12-year-old was working on the grounds of Upward Elementary Saturday morning.</p><p>The Environmental and Conservation Organization's second Earth Stewardship Day started off with a cool morning Saturday as volunteers like Perez-Sanchez tackled projects across Henderson County. The gardening project at Upward - where students added mulch and pulled weeds - was just one piece of the puzzle as workers spread out to take care of the earth. </p><p>For Perez-Sanchez, the morning was a good one. The Flat Rock Middle student was working at Upward with the Henderson County Young Leaders program, and said Saturday's work was about giving back. </p><p>Last year, she was still a student at Upward and knows the garden very well.</p><p>"It makes me really proud to know I'm working in this garden," she said. "Helping the garden is like helping the people of this school. It's just a beautiful garden that I absolutely love."</p><p>Those were the emotions ECO was trying to emphasize during the collaborative event, which is designed to bring environmental stewardship to the forefront for people who might not normally be as conscious of it. The group wanted participants to be "engaged in environmental stewardship" in a hands-on way, ECO Water Quality Administrator Seirisse Baker said.</p><p>"That was definitely accomplished today," she added. </p><p>The event also serves other purposes. For Diane Jacober, it was another way to teach her kids about leadership. Jacober is the director of Henderson County Young Leaders. </p><p>"This is a good format for it," she said.</p><p>The group had high school teens, middle school kids and elementary school children helping out at Upward on Saturday. Earth Stewardship Day included seven locations and 10 organizations helping out. Baker estimated that nearly 150 people volunteered to work on the projects. </p><p>"I think it was a great success," she said. "I think a lot was accomplished and everyone had fun."</p><p>Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.</p>